Centurion Europe Supplement – Professional Builders Merchant May 2021

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PROFESSIONAL

BUILDERS

MERCHANT ADVERTORIAL SUPPLEMENT

MAY 2021

CENTURION EUROPE For quality brands you can trust Q&A — in conversation with the Centurion leadership team THE RANGE — delving into a portfolio of more than 27,000 products MARKETING SUPPORT — merchandising, brochures and more

www.professionalbuildersmerchant.co.uk

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ADVERTORIAL SUPPLEMENT

From hardware, ironmongery and decorating accessories to plumbing solutions, tapes, adhesives and signs and labels, Centurion is one of the UK’s leading wholesale suppliers and every day ships thousands of products to customers nationwide from its warehouse in South Yorkshire.

“More than your average wholesaler…”

W

ith over 35 years of experience distributing thousands of products, Centurion has a wealth of knowledge and has always been proud in ensuring the products it sources — whether its own house brands or other brands — are of the highest quality.

Back in 1983, the company was started by the Kantecki family and in 2005 Paul Kantecki, along with David Geczi, took over the business and built the 80,000sqft warehouse on Hunt Lane in Doncaster where it is still situated today. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, extending its product ranges, developing its own house brands and diversifying into safety signs for the building trades.

Centurion works hard to maintain a consistently high standard of quality across its full portfolio of brands. To achieve this, the company ensures the ongoing development of a quality management system that meets the requirements of BS EN ISO 9001:1401 accreditations, as well as the development of personnel to match the

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needs and expectations of the business, whilst also ensuring that the full potential of each employee is fulfilled.

Around 40% of its staff have worked for the business for over five years, whilst 25% have more than 10 years’ service and another 7% have been with it for over 20 years, clearly demonstrating the positive working culture experienced at Centurion.

And in fact, its longest serving employee has actually been with the company right from the start.

Over the years, Centurion have been affected by a number of incidents — for example, prior to Covid and the first Lockdown, Hunt Lane was badly affected by the floods when the River Don burst its banks in the early hours. Not only were the floods on the firm’s doorstep but also the local residents were affected very badly and much more so than its own premises.

Having “lost everything they had worked hard for” and “experiencing significant devastation to their homes”, the team at Centurion supported them as much as it could, from help with sandbags to

FACT FILE Established: 1983 Location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire Size of Warehouse: 80,000 sqft No of employees: 111 Stock range: 27,000 products Distribution: National supply. A next day guaranteed delivery service is available, with all other deliveries made between 1-3 working days.

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that your customers trust, our products can be supplied pre-packed and retail ready.

We also specialise in bespoke merchandising solutions for enhanced product display, driving customer engagement and boosting sales.” providing cleaning supplies, pallets to help raise their furniture and appliances off the floor and making donations to the local residents’ charity appeal.

“Because of their excellent delivery times and cohesive ranges, we have benefited from a great upturn in sales.”

Centurion stockist The road was closed as the emergency services worked to remove the water as quickly as possible, which meant deliveries from Centurion’s building were affected, but we received tremendous support from our customers during that time.

The reaction was a continuation of Centurion’s wider ethos. Located in a residential part of the town, the firm works with its neighbours to understand the impact the business may have on their home life. It conducts surveys regularly to identify any concerns the residents may have and in actual fact, many of its employees actually

live in this area meaning “we are not just a business, we are part a big part of a community.”

This feeling is perhaps reflected by a recognition that, in today’s marketplace, customers are far more aware of the need to buy responsibly.

Centurion accordingly makes every effort to source environmentally safe and sustainable products, whilst investing in improved technology, energy efficiency and conservation throughout its operations.

Furthermore, the customer service team at Centurion pride themselves on developing effective working partnerships with its customers, recognising their individual needs and tailoring its service accordingly.

This is bolstered by a nationwide network of Area Sales Managers, whilst customers can benefit from 24 hour online ordering and the reassurance of a 99.5% picking and order accuracy.

As MD Paul Kantecki says on the Centurion website: “We offer much more than your average wholesaler. For brands

www.professionalbuildersmerchant.co.uk

■ For more information on Centurion’s full product range and support services for stockists, enter the shortcode www.rdr.link/mb012

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ADVERTORIAL SUPPLEMENT

Paul Kantecki

Debi Miller

David Geczi

In conversation…

PBM speaks with Centurion’s Managing Director Paul Kantecki, Director David Geczi and Customer Services Director, Debi Miller.

How would you define Centurion’s current relationship with the merchant sector?

Paul Kantecki: The Centurion name is recognised within the builders’ merchants industry, and we have long standing relationships with many. However, they perhaps don’t always understand the full offering we have available and how we can support them.

We are working hard through our Sales and Marketing teams to raise awareness and encourage conversations with merchants so they can understand just how good a supply chain partner we can become.

Debi Miller: We have excellent longstanding relationships with many merchant buying groups including NMBS, CBA, H&B, Fortis and NBG (not to mention buying

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groups in other sectors such as Troy, THS, Amalgamated Hardware, Associated Hardware and National Hardware).

Furthermore, we can tailor and tweak our offerings in accordance with each merchant customer’s particular requirements and provide bespoke POS.

“We have always taken pride in our level of customer service and this remains the forefront of everything we do.”

How can you sum up the tough trading conditions experienced over the last year?

Paul Kantecki: Due to Covid and Brexit, freight prices, customs clearances and product availability have all proved challenging over the last 12 months.

Also, there have been lots of changes and challenges to the way we communicate with our customers and internal staff. Online meetings have become the new norm and smaller group meetings have been necessary to ensure social distancing remains in place.

And more generally, how do you feel the industry has changed in recent years?

Debi Miller: We are seeing the industry moving more online, not only researching

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but purchasing online as well. Many are using online to see what is available, check out the choice and delve into details — even if they then pick up the phone to order, most of their decision making is being made online.

Of course, these trends have been accelerated by Covid-19, which affects how merchants serve their customers and pushing increased activity online and for delivery.

Plus, the younger generation coming through the trades are more digital savvy and embracing technology for purchasing and research — the perception the industry ‘is traditional’ is becoming outdated.

In our own business, online used to mean small package deliveries but we are now seeing much larger orders placed online. We are working hard to keep our online presence accessible to everyone with our 24/7 website where merchants can browse products, place orders and take advantage of our direct delivery to their own customer if required.

This year will also see us introduce a YouTube channel to showcase and demo products and provide guides as well.

What other trends are developing within your sector of the industry at the moment?

Debi Miller: The main driver in our industry at the moment is service. Everyone has come to expect a speedy service and we are rising to the challenge to make sure we keep up with supply and demand.

We have always taken pride in our level of customer service and this remains the forefront of everything we do.

Can you bring us up to speed on the latest developments and any recent investment made by Centurion into its manufacturing and production facilities?

Paul Kantecki: We have made a lot of changes over the years, and most recently have focused on increasing our production and office capacity within our

manufacturing facility. We have created a modern office space that offers an expansive open plan layout and has been designed to stimulate creativity, collaboration and communication by incorporating a showroom, meeting rooms and chill out areas.

This will allow our customers to understand the different aspects involved in our manufacturing process and also let them see exactly what we can offer.

Over the last financial year, we have invested £¾ million in new plant and machinery. This has enhanced our manufacturing capability not only to improve speed but also to give us the bestin-class quality which we always strive for.

New LED lighting has also been installed across 90% of the building, both inside and out, not only saving on energy but the lighting Lux levels have surpassed the required standards to support our ISO14001:2015 Environmental accreditation.

We have also created a waste care area and are pleased to advise that 100% of our recyclable waste material does not reach landfill.

What new products have you recently brought to the market and what do you hope to achieve for your target audience?

David Geczi: We were the first to market with our range of Social Distancing signage and safety-related products which became the standard for the industry. We are very proud that we are supplying products for the NHS vaccine program, manufacturing privacy booths and supplying related items needed for the vaccine rollout.

In addition, the point-of-sale offering for our products is second to none. With the introduction of new lines such as ratchet straps and Mellerud cleaning products, our in-housing design and manufacturing team have created custom made stands which help to display the products in a way that makes it easy for the consumer to shop.

www.professionalbuildersmerchant.co.uk

Reliability of supply is a key issue for merchants. What steps is Centurion taking to ensure merchants can always get the products they need, when they need them?

David Geczi: We are in a fortunate position that we manufacture all of our own safety and other signage in-house, so we can guarantee supply. We have an indepth MRP system which allows us to track demand and place forward orders to ensure continuity of supply.

“We are working hard through our Sales and Marketing teams to raise awareness and encourage conversations with merchants so they can understand just how good a supply chain partner we can become.”

This year more broadly, we have increased our raw material and stock holding to combat the issues predicted with Brexit and our purchasing team have done a fantastic job of managing our stock levels.

Our in-house packing facility is also controlled via our MRP systems and forms part of our ISO9001:2015 quality assurance guarantee.

Our latest ISO external audit found no observations or non-conformances giving us a near perfect report.

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ADVERTORIAL SUPPLEMENT

Quality brands…

Centurion provides products that help get the job done, working closely with manufacturers to achieve innovative high-quality products the company is proud to make its own house brands.

The Centurion Brand Ironmongery — a high-quality range which delivers great choice to suit every need, from hinges and latches to door furniture.

Hardware — an extensive hardware range which includes everything the professional tradesmen would need.

Chains — suitable for a wide range of uses, Centurion chain products include decorative chain, steel chain, stainless steel chain and polythene chain and accessories.

Trade Packs Includes over 300 of Centurion’s most popular hardware lines in a handy resealable bag that can be thrown back into the toolbox until they are needed again.

Warmseal A well-known brand that reduces heat loss by up to 35%, Warmseal provides an effective range of draught exclusion and weatherproofing products that have been tried and trusted for years.

Pro Task Pro Task offers high performance, quality tools for the job at hand. When performance

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is key, everyone wants hand tools they can depend upon and Centurion offers a wide range of essentials.

commercial grade options that conform to EN 12195-2.

Spectrum Industrial Ratchet Straps Ratchet straps are some of the most versatile tie-downs available and can be used in a range of applications. They play a vital role to ensure the safe securing of loads during transit and Centurion offers light duty, medium duty, heavy duty and

A range of signs and safety solutions of over 5,000 lines ideal for the construction and building trades.

■ For more information on Centurion’s full product range, enter the shortcode www.rdr.link/mb013

www.professionalbuildersmerchant.co.uk

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Merchandising & marketing support…

C

enturion has always supported its resellers with point of sale and merchandising. The company understands how pushed end users are for time and the Centurion merchandising systems have been developed with convenience in mind, making it easy for the merchant to set up in store and easy for the end user to shop.

The display units maximise use of floor, wall or countertop space to not only ensure

that customers can find what they are looking for but also enable branch staff to easily replenish stock and showcase products to their best effect.

With in-house facilities to design and manufacture bespoke point of sale solutions, Centurion can provide striking and functional units to help maximise your sales.

In addition, Centurion aims to be more than just a distributor or vendor, working with and supporting its

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customers on growing sales. Its inhouse dedicated marketing team ensures that it can help merchants to drive sell through by providing a wide variety of marketing tools, including brochures, mailers, promotions, web support and much more.

■ For more on Centurion’s merchandising and marketing solutions, search www.rdr.link/mb014

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